In 2017, the Ottawa Valley Farm Show will be celebrating its 90 th anniversary in several ways, including
with new logo and website, already completed, and a commemorative quilt.

Leading up to the March 14-16 show, a pick-up truck sponsored by Bean Chevrolet Buick GMC Ltd.,
Carleton Place, wrapped in eye-catching rural scenes and the new logo, has been attending various
agricultural events to promote the 90 th anniversary. Over the next few weeks, the truck will participate
in a number of community Christmas parades.

Several special events will be staged during the 90 th show itself, including auction of the anniversary quilt
as part of the annual Prestigious Pedigreed Seed Sale raising funds for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern
Ontario. To date, the sale has collected $130,000.

The burgundy and beige log-cabin style quilt with each block radiating out from a golden wheat field is
now being assembled by up to 10 volunteers lead by Nancy Grundy who estimates that some 25 hours
have already been invested in the project.

When completed, the quilt will fit a king-size bed. It’ll be reversible, with the flip side featuring a 40-by-
40-inch appliqued landscape encompassing both the old and new logos of the farm show and the
Ottawa Valley Seed Growers Association which has sponsored it since 1927 when it started in Renfrew
County as a rotating seed competition and exhibition.

“The landscape celebrates evolution of the farm show. You can use it on the bed or flip it over and hang
it on the wall,” Grundy observed, adding that it’s priceless. “It’s the one and only.”

In the 1950s, the show moved to Ottawa as a central location and began taking on machinery and other
attractions, leading up to the modern configuration with 350 exhibitors staged at the EY Centre adjacent
to Ottawa International Airport. The seed and feed exhibition remains at the heart of the show.

As she has for the past several years, Grundy will coordinate the quilt display at the farm show, focusing
in 2017 on heritage quilts. She invites anyone with a quilted family heirloom they would like to display
to contact her at 613-489- 3136.